The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 30, 2025
Filed:
May. 16, 2024
Hideki Kimura, Kanagawa, JP;
Seiichi Kogure, Kanagawa, JP;
Hiroshi Kikuchi, Kanagawa, JP;
Hirotaka Hatta, Kanagawa, JP;
Yusuke Ishizuka, Kanagawa, JP;
Takuya Akiyama, Kanagawa, JP;
Yuuki Aoki, Tokyo, JP;
Yutaka Goto, Tokyo, JP;
Masashi Tachi, Kanagawa, JP;
Hideki Kimura, Kanagawa, JP;
Seiichi Kogure, Kanagawa, JP;
Hiroshi Kikuchi, Kanagawa, JP;
Hirotaka Hatta, Kanagawa, JP;
Yusuke Ishizuka, Kanagawa, JP;
Takuya Akiyama, Kanagawa, JP;
Yuuki Aoki, Tokyo, JP;
Yutaka Goto, Tokyo, JP;
Masashi Tachi, Kanagawa, JP;
Ricoh Company, Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer, a cleaning blade having an elastic member contacting a surface of the image bearer, the cleaning blade removing a residue on the surface of the image bearer, and a controller. In the image forming apparatus, the cleaning blade has a coating film of a lubricant formed on an edge contacting, at least, the image bearer, and the controller performs an initial coating film adjustment before an image is initially formed. In the image forming apparatus, the initial coating film adjustment includes driving the image bearer to rotate, sliding the image bearer and the cleaning blade, removing a portion of the coating film of the lubricant, which is formed on the cleaning blade, and exposing the edge of the cleaning blade.